lii Journal of Proceedings.
Copland told me that his son, who was then ill and soon afterwards died,
had found such a plant in the previous August. I therefore went in
search of it and found it in the place where it has grown ever since. As
Mr. Copland flattered himself that he had made an addition by his dis-
covery to our list of native plants, I never told him what I afterwards
learned from the cottager who occupied the garden bounded by the hedge
under which this interesting plant grows :—that the Bishop's gardener
had given him some seeds of American annuals which he sowed, and that
the Claytonia in particular had overrun the ground and finally established
itself by the wayside."
Arriving at the Bishop's Park at Wood-hill, the "traps" were dismissed
with instructions to the drivers to "wait at the 'Griffin'" until the after-
noon's ramble was over. With great courtesy the Bishop of St. Alban's
had readily accorded permission to the members to stroll through a
portion of the park, at the same time expressing his regret that the fact
of his daughter's marriage with the Duke of Argyll taking place on that
day would prevent him from having the pleasure of offering them the
hospitality of the Palace. The saunter through the grandly timbered
park with its picturesque clumps of oak, beech, and elm, its glades and
avenues and charming pieces of ornamental water, was thoroughly
enjoyed by all. In the ponds were noticed the white water-lily (Nymplaea
alba), Myosotis palustris, Mentha, hirsuta, the graceful Alisma Plantago,
and the deliciously fragrant sweet-flag (Acorus Calamus). Mr. Jaggs, the
park-keeper, called attention to a fine oak tree (Q. pedunculata), with
leaves curiously variegated, but bearing acorns invariably producing
normal plants. Professor Boulger (who acted throughout the afternoon
as "botanical conductor," and of whom it was good-humouredly asserted
by one of the party that, in the language of the motto to ' Notes and
Queries,' he proved himself the most "learned, chatty, and useful" of
guides) was disposed to attribute the variation to the presence of a
parasitic Alga in the cells of the leaves. The variation is contagious but
not hereditary in some ivies, and regret was expressed that the tree did
not stand in the midst of a grove of oaks, in order that it might be seen
whether the disease would be communicated to them. Near this was a
small slip of willow brought by Mrs. Campbell from the tomb of Napoleon
I., at St. Helena, and now growing healthily and vigorously in the Essex
park. In the walk through the woods several other interesting plants
were noticed, particularly Ruscus aculeatus, the only British monocoty-
ledon with a woody stem ; this also grows on Danbury Common and at
Little Baddow, so plentifully as to leave no doubt as to its being a true
native. Piloted by Mr. T. M. Gepp, who appeared to be familiar with
every inch of the ground, the party made its way through the woods,
halting to be let through a gate here, and having to clamber over a fence
there, from the park to
" The decent Church that tops the neighbouring hill,"
which is built within the bounds of the ancient camp. This is one of the